Library 

OF  THE 

University  of  NortK  Carolina 

THE  LINDSAY  PATTERSON 
COLLECTION 

Given  as  a  memorial  by  his  wife 


0-f>3&5-  I  -A8SL 


OA-f-  £. 


ATLANTIC,  TENNESSEE  AND  OHIO 


A- 


A  Bill  was  introduced  before  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina,  during 
the  session  of  1852,  for  the  purpose  of  chartering  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee 
and  Ohio  Rail  Road  company.  This  road  was  designed  to  extend  from 
the  Central  Rail  Road  in  North  Carolina  to  the  State  line,  upon  the  Wa- 
tauga River,  in  the  direction  of  Jouesborough,  Tennessee;  and  was  inten- 
ded to  connect  both  with  Charlotte  and  Salisbury.  Beyond  the  limits  of 
North  Carolina,  companies  had  been  already  chartered  in  other  States,  to 
provide  for  the  extension  of  this  Road  to  the  Ohio  River.  In  our  State, 
though  a  naked  charter  without  any  appropriation  was  all  that  was  asked, 
it  was  refused,  and  the  bill  was  defeated.  I  propose  to  show  that  the  re- 
fusal of  North  Carolina  to  grant  this  charter  was  unjust  and  unwise. 

It  was  argued  in  favor  of  refusing  the  charter,  that  if  the  Atlantic,  Ten- 
nessee and  Ohio  Rail  Road  were  made,  the  counties  through  which  it  would 
pass  would  trade  over  it  to  Charleston,  S.  C.  and  would  not  trade  over  the 
Central  Rail  Road  to  the  seaports  of  North  Carolina  ;  and  that  thus  the 
prosperity  of  the  seaports  of  North  Carolina  would  be  retarded,  and  the 
tolls  upon  the  Central  Rail  Rroad  would  be  diminished,  so  as  to  render  it 
less  profitable  to  the  State. 

I  hope  to  show  that  it  is  not  true,  that  the  construction  of  the  Atlantic, 
Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road  would  retard  the  prosperity  of  the  seaports 
of  North  Carolina,  or  render  the  Central  Rail  Road  less  profitable  to  the 
state.  But  suppose  it  to  be  true,  and  true  for  the  reason  alleged,  that  the 
counties  through  which  it  would  pass  would  trade  over  it  to  Charleston, 
ami  would  not  trade  over  the  Central  Rail  Road.  Then,  would  it  be  just 
to  those  counties  to  refuse  them  the  charter  for  this  reason  ? 

The  Ea-t  and  Centre,  in  urging  this  argument  upon  those  counties,  are 
in  effect  saying  to  them  : 

"  It  is  plain  that  the  Central  Rail  Road,  which  opens  to  us  the  natural 
channel  of  our  trade,  and  connects  us  with  our  own  adjacent  seaports,  is 
intended  for  our  especial  benefit.  And  it  is  equally  plain  to  us  that  it  is 
not  intended  for  your  especial  benefit;  for  though  the  Central  Rail  Road 
would  connect  Salisbury  and  Charlotte  with  our  own  seaports,  yet  we  are 
forced  by  our  present  argument  to  admit  that,  if  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee 
and  Ohio  Rail  Road  were  made,  you  would  trade  over  that,  to  Charleston, 
and  would  not  trade  over  the  Central  Rail  Road.  But,  though  we  wanted 
the  Central  Rail  Road  for  our  especial  benefit,  we  were  unable,  or  unwill- 
ing, to  bear  the  burden  of  constructing  more  than  one-third  of  it ;  and  we 
asked  the  State  to  bear  the  burden  of  constructing  the  other  two-thirds. 

"  With  becoming  State  pride  and  patriotism,  you  generally  sustained  us  ; 
and  consented  that,  in  addition  to  the  other  large  sums  expended  in  the 
East  and  Centre  for  internal  improvements,  the  State  should  incur  a  debt 
of  two  million  of  dollars,  in  aid  of  the  Central  Rail  Road,  for  the  payment 
of  which  you  were  to  be  taxed  equally  with  us.  For  this  we  owe  you  a 
debt  of  gratitude,  redeemable,  not  in  empty  thanks  and  idle  declamation, 
but  in  State  bonds,  issued  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  a  Rail  Road. 

"  But.  though  this  is  true,  yet  if  we  aid  you  in   the  construction  of  the 


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Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road  ;  nay,  if  we  even  allow  you,  un- 
aided by  us,  to  make  it  yourselves,  you  will  trade  over  it  to  Charleston. 
Fou  would,  indeed,  do  that  for  your  own  benefit.  Bat  what  of  that!  You 
would  cease  to  trade  over  the  Central  Rail  Road;  and  tbus  it  wou1}  be- 
come less  profitable  to  the  State.  It  is  true  that,  as  tax-payers,  you  bear, 
equally  with  us,  your  full  share  of  the  burden  of  this  Cei.tral  Rail  ..toad, 
intended  for  our  especial  benefit.  But  we  want  more  of  you.  We  wish 
to  prevent  you  from  trading  to  Charleston,  which,  we  are  forced  by  our 
argument  to  admit,  is  your  natural  market;  and  to  secure  your  trade  upon 
the  Central  Rail  Road,  to  your  disadvantage,  as  we  in  effect  admit,  u  or- 
der that,  at  your  expense,  its  tolls  may  be  increased,  and  the  prosperity 
of  our  seaports  promoted. 

"  Thus  you  will  not  only,  as  tax-payers,  bear  your  full  share  of  the  bur- 
den of  the  Central  Rail  Road,  which  we  admit,  by  our  argument,  to  have 
been  intended  for  our  especial  benefit ;  but  you  will,  as  toll  payer,  also, 
relieve  us  as  much  as  we  can  make  you,  of  our  part  of  the  btrden  By 
this  arrangement  we  will  secure  to  ourselves  the  big  end  of  the  profit, 
while  you  will  have  to  carry  the  heavy  end  of  the  burden. 

"  This  is  so  obvious  to  our  intelligence,  and  so  tempting  \o  our  eup  dity, 
that,  although  we  owe  you  a  debt  of  gratitude  redeemable  in  a  Rail  ..load, 
yet  we  would  not  only  refuse  to  aid  you  in  the  construction  of  the  Atlan- 
tic, Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road,  if  you  had  the  temerity  to  ask  it;  but 
we  will  deny  you  even  a  naked  Charter  for  it.  We  will  not  even  Let  you 
build  your  own  Road  with  your  own  money.  We  will  force  you  to  .rade 
over  the  Central  Rail  Road." 

Such  is  the  argument,  in  a  different  dress,  but  in  substrnce  uneha  lged. 
If,  in  its  new  dress,  its  injustice  seems  somewhat  more  glaring,  it  is  no 
more  gross. 

But  how  can  it  be  true,  as  urged  in  this  argument  agairst  the  Atlantic, 
Tennnessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Ptoad,  that  its  construction  woui.1  tend  to  divert 
the  trade  of  those  counties  through  which  it  would  pass,  from  the  Seaboard 
of  North  Carolina  to  the  City  of  Charleston  ?  Charlotte  and  Salisbury  are 
already,  by  means  of  the  Charlotte  and  Columbia  Rail  Road  and  the  Cen- 
tral Rail  Road,  in  connexion  with  Charleston  as  well  as  wibh  our  own  sea- 
board. The  people  of  the  counties  through  which  the  Atlautic  Tennessee 
and  Ohio  Rail  Road  would  pass,  already  trade  to  Charlotte  and  Salisbury, 
with  which  it  proposes  to  connect  them.  Arrived  at  those  points,  they  find 
themselves  in  connexion  by  Rail  Road  with  Charleston,  as  well  as  with  our 
own  seaboard,  and  possessed  of  the  entire  liberty  of  trading  with  either.  If 
they  find  it  to  their  interest  to  trade  to  the  seaboard  of  North  Carolina, 
they  may  do  so.  If  on  the  other  hand,  they  find  it  to  their  interest  to  >ade 
to  Charleston,  they  may  do  so.  The  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road 
would  nearly  enable  them  to  arrive  at  Salisbury  and  Charlotte  with  great- 
er facility  ;  but  those  places  would  be  made  no  nearer  to,  or  more  closely 
connected  with  Charleston,  and  no  further  from  our  seaboard  than  they 
are  now. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  construction  of  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio 
Rail  Road  would  not  tend  to  divert  the  trade  of  the  counties  th  ough 
which  it  would  pass,  from  the  seaboard  of  North  Carolin  to  the  C.ty  of 
Charleston  ;  but  that  its  effect,  on  the  contrary,  would  be  raorely  to  facili- 
tate the  trade  of  those  counties  to  the  towns  of  Salisbury  and  Cha: lotte, 
where  they  already  find  themselves  in  connection  by  Rail  Road  both  with 
our  own  seaboard  and  with  Charleston  j  connections  which  have  been  ef- 
fected through  the  previous  Legislation  of  our  own  State,  the  one  with 
Charleston,  first. 


it  is  assumed,  as  a  fundamental  principle,  in  this  argument  against  the 
Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road,  that  ic  is  injurious  to  North  Car- 
olina to  connect  interior  portions  of  the  State  by  Rail  Road  with  seaports 
in  adjacent  States,  so  as  to  facilitate  the  trade  between  them.  Is  this 
principle  true  ?  If  so,  North  Carolina  owes  a  heavy  debt  of  gratitude  to 
the  opponents  of  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road,  for  expo-ing 
an  error  which  has  hitherto  affected  much  of  her  Legislation  on  the  subject 
of  Rail  Roads. 

She  Las  heretofore  chartered  the  North  and  South  Carolina  R.  Road,  the 
Raleigh  and  Columbia  II.  Road,  the  Louisville,  Cincinnati  and  Charleston  R. 
Road,  the  Tennessee  River  R.  Road,  the  Charleston,  Blue  Ridge  and  Chatta- 
nooga R.  Road,  &c.}  all  designed  to  connect  interior  portions  of  the  State  with 
Charleston.  And  she  has  with  equal  facility  granted  Charters  for  R  Roads 
to  be  extended  across  her  northern  boundary  to  the  seaports  of  Virginia. 
If  ull  this  Legislation  is  erroneous,  then  truly  North  Carolina  has  adhered 
very  blindly  to  the  error  of  her  ways  ;  until  at  length  the  opponents  of  the 
Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Hail  Road  have  enlightened  her  councils. 

And  if  this  Legislation  is  erroneous  for  the  reason  alleged,  there  would 
•seem  to  he  a  similar  error  of  equal  magnitude  involved  in  much  of  the  same 
Legislation^  to  wit,  the  error  of  permitting  rail  roads  to  be  extended  from 
the  seaports  of  adjoining  States,  across  our  territory,  to  the  interior  of  oth- 
er States.  It  is  apparent,  for  example,  that  Charleston  is  endeavoring  to 
extend  her  rail  road  connections  to  the  Ohio,  and  to  secure  a  portion  of 
the  vast  commerce  of  the  North  West.  But  so  much  of  this  commerce  as 
finds  its  way  through  the  Cumberland  Gap,  the  great  gate  way  of  the 
Cumberland  Mountains,  in  order  to  reach  Charleston  by  rail  road,  is  now 
forced  for  want  of  a  direct  rail  road  through  North  Carolina,  to  make  an 
awkard  bend  towards  the  South  West,  and  pour  its  full  tide  down  the  val- 
ley of  the  East  Tennessee  and  across  the  wide  domain  of  Georgia. 

And  yet  when  it  was  proposed  by  the  Charter  of  the  Charleston,  Blue 
Ridge  and  Chattanooga  Rail  Road,  to  open  a  more  direct  channel  for  the 
rich  tide  of  this  commerce,  by  the  Hiwassee  River  and  Rabun  Gap  route, 
North  Carolina  was  blind  enough,  in  the  estimation  of  the  opponents  of  the 
Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road,  to  grant  the  Charter.  And  when 
it  was  proposed,  by  the  Tennessee  River  Rail  Road,  to  open  for  this  com- 
merce a  channel  further  East,  and  still  more  direct ;  North  Carolina  still 
grants  a  Charter.  And  when  the  friends  of  this  commerce  come  still  fur- 
ther East  and  ask  permission  to  stretch  the  Louisville,  Cincinnati  and 
Charleston  Rail  Road,  by  the  French  Broad  route,  across  a  still  larger  por- 
tion of  our  State  ;  even  this  does  not  open  the  eyes  of  North  Carolina  ;  and 
the  Charter  is  granted.  It  is  only  when,  by  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and 
Ohio  Rail  Road,  this  vast  and  growing  commerce  at  length  seeks  a  transit 
across  the  whole  width  of  our  State  by  a  route  which  is  by  nature  the 
most  favorable  for  the  construction  of  a  rail  road,  is  the  most  direct  be- 
tween Charleston  and  the  Ohio  River,  and  at  the  same  time  connects  most 
admirably  with  our  own  system  of  rail  roads,  and  our  own  seaboards  ;  that 
the  scales  of  error  at  length  fall  from  our  eyes,  and  we  suddenly  become 
wise  enough,  guided  by  these  sage  counsellors,  to  refuse  the  Charter. 

The  human  mind  is  so  constituted,  that  it  would  not  be  unparralled,  if 
some  of  the  many  authors  and  promoters  of  these  various  Charters  should  still 
contend  that  the  error  was  not  in  granting  them,  but  in  refusing  to  grant 
the  Charter  of  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road. 

Without  carrying  further  the  language  of  irony,  it  is  surely  manifest,  from 
the  examples  cited,  that  North  Carolina  had  not,  before  the  refusal  to  Char- 
ter fcha  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  R-oad,  acted  npoo  the  policy  of 


4 

prohibiting  her  Sister  States  from  extending  their  rail  road  connections  in- 
to and  across  her  territory.  Has  any  such  prohibitory  policy  been  adop- 
ted in  the  other  States  ? 

In  the  State  of  New  York,  a  rail  road  and  canal  extend  from  Lake  Erie 
to  Albany,  commanding  the  immense  commerce  of  the  lakes.  Albany  is 
no  nearer  to  the  city  of  New  York,  than  to  the  rival  city  of  Boston,  in  the 
adjoining  State  of  Massachusetts.  The  State  of  New  York  might  have 
prohibited  to  Boston  a  connection  at  Albany  with  her  great  Western  canal 
and  rail  road,  and  a  participation  in  the  vast  commerce  which  pours  over 
them.  Pid  she  avail  herself  of  this  power  of  prohibition?  By  no  means. 
But  on  the  contrary,  she  invited  Boston,  through  the  breadth  of  a  single 
county  east  of  the  Hudson,  to  unite  herself  with  Albany,  her  interior,  and 
the  West.  A  neck  of  the  territory  of  Pennsylvania  extends  to  lake  Erie. 
New  York  could  not  connect  herself  by  rail  road  with  the  west  without 
crossing  this  neck.  Does  Penns3'lvania,  under  this  strong  temptation,  a- 
dopt  the  prohibitory  policy  ?  No.  But,  on  the  contrary,  she  permits  New 
York  to  extend  her  rail  road  into  the  west,  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie, 
across  the  breadth  of  a  single  county.  Massachusetts  is  webbed  by  rail 
roads  running  from  the  seaports  of  adjoining  States.  The  little  state  of 
Connecticut  has  six  rail  roads,  a  navigable  river,  and  a  canal,  all  running 
from  her  own  seaboard  across  the  whole  width  of  her  territory  from  South 
to  North.  Yet  she  permits  two  rail  roads  running  between  Boston  and 
New  York  seaports,  in  adjoining  States,  to  cross  the  entire  length  of  her 
territory  from  East  to  West,  one  along  her  coast,  and  one  through  the  cen- 
tre of  the  State.  New  Hampshire  has  connected  Portsmouth  with  Mon- 
treal by  rail  road ;  and  yet  permits  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  through 
opposite  corners  of  her  territory,  to  accomplish  the  same  connection.  Geor- 
gia, after  a  gigantic  struggle  to  reach  the  Ohio  and  the  North  West,  yet 
opens  the  way  across  a  siugle  county  on  the  North  East  corner  of  her  ter- 
ritory, that  Charleston  may  streteh  a  parallel  and  rival  road  through  the 
Rabun  Gap  to  the  Ohio  and  the  North  West.  And  it  would  be  easy  to 
multiply  examples  of  the  same  spirit  of  mutual  comity  existing  throughout 
the  Union.  And  the  mutual  prosperity  which  has  invariably  flowed  from 
the  exercise  of  this  enlightened  liberality,  proves  that  the  States  which  are 
actuated  by  it  are  as  wise  as  they  are  generous. 

Yet  there  have  sprung  up  in  North  Carolina  a  race  of  small  politicians, 
who  stand  up  with  their  eyes  shut  in  all  this  blaze  of  light,  aud  exciaiin, 
that,  if  we  connect  our  railroads  with  the  seaports  of  Virginia  and  South 
Carolina,  we  tap  the  wealth  of  the  Stace  ;  we  open  her  arteries,  and  draw 
forth  the  life  blood  of  her  prosperity;  we  draiu  her  of  her  treasures,  and  pour 
them  into  the  laps  of  Virginia  aud  South  Carolina;  and  so  forth.  But  sure- 
ly the  people  of  North  Carolina  have  intelligence  enough  to  distinguish  such 
light  chaff  from  wheat ;  and  to  know  that  the  benefits  o;'  commei  ce  are  mu- 
tual. It  requires  but  little  progress  in  mechanical  philosophy,  to  know  that 
action  is  accompanied  with  re-action;  and  it  needs  but  little  knowledge  of 
the  laws  of  political  economy,  to  .comprehend  thai  the  commerce  between 
States  is  beneficial  to  each. 

It  might  be  well,  too,  for  the  advocates  of  this  jramj  if  shutfast,  to  re- 
member that  it  is  a  game  that  two  can  play  at.  He  does  not  deserve  the 
name  of  North  Carolinian,  who  does  not  hope  thai  we,  too,  will  build  up 
cities  on  our  coast,  and  extend  their  commerce,  and  their  rail  road  connec- 
tions, over  the  Union.  But  how  will  Beaufort  and  Wilmington  reach  the 
North  West  and  the  South  West,  without  crossing  the  territory  of  Virginia 
on  the  one  hand,  and  of  South  Carolina  on  the  other?  It  would  seem  a 
waste  of  time  to  combat  the  fallacy  of  a  policy  so  absurd,  if  there  were  not 
to  b»  found  io  North  Carolina,  many  parsons  who  advocate  it. 


5 

There  are  also  many  persons  in  North  Carolina  who  fall  into  an  error 
equally  fallacious,  in  believing  that  it  would  be  disastrous  to  build  rail 
roads  in  North  Carolina,  for  the  reason  that  there  would  not  be  business 
upon  them  enough  to  sustain  them,  and  that  their  competition  would  render 
unprofitable  the  roads  already  made  or  in  progress.  And  some  may  have 
joined  in  the  opposition  to  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road  from 
fears  of  this  nature.  But  to  such  persons  we  ask  leave  respectful^  to  sug- 
gest that  they  are  perhaps  behind  the  times  ;  they  are  not  posted  up  in  their 
account  of  the  progress  of  the  age.  North  Carolina  was  stunned  into  a  Rip 
Van  Winkle  slumber,  in  the  shock  of  1837  ;  and  it  may  be  that  these  per- 
sons have  not  yet  shaken  off  the  drowsy  influence  of  that  stun.  If  so,  it  is 
hi^h  time  that  they  should  awake.  Let  these  North  Carolinians  of  little 
faith  look  around  them,  and  observe  the  gigantic  strides  of  rail  road  enter- 
prise in  the  United  States,  for  the  last  few  years.  And  then  let  them  com- 
pare the  condition,  and  statistics,  and  resources  of  North  Carolina,  with 
the  condition,  and  statistics,  and  resources  of  the  sections  where  those  strides 
have  been  made,  and  are  making;  and  they  will  learn  to  entertain  a  more 
exalted  opinion  of  the  good  old  North  State.  Their  doubts  will  begin  to 
disappear;  their  hopes  will  grow  bright;  and  they  will  learn  to  believe  that 
the  euergetid  aud  devoted  patriotism  of  her  sons  may  yet  achieve  for  North 
Carolina  a  future  of  glorious  prosperity.  To  encourage  them  in  the  effort, 
we  will  invite  their  attention  to  the  consideration  of  a  few  facts  and  figures 
illustrative  of  the  ability  of  North  Carolina  to  construct  and  maintain  a 
general  system  of  rail  roads. 

The  coast  of  New  England,  south  of  Portland,  Maine,  is  of  less  extent 
than  the  coast  of  North  Carolina.  The  interior  is  by  nature  less  produc- 
tive than  the  interior  of  North  Carolina.  The  principal  part  of  the  com- 
merce of  this  section  of  course  centers  at  Boston.  The  commerce  with  the 
other  seaports  upon  the  coast,  to  borrow  a  few  phrases  from  the  opposers 
of  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road,  besides  being  overshad- 
owed by  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  is  tapped  and  drained,  indeed,  it  might  be 
thought  altogether  sucked  dry,  by  the  system  of  rail  roads  ramifying  into 
every  part  of  it  from  the  great  commercial  emporium  of  the  adjacent  State 
of  New  York.  Yet  upGn  this  portion  of  the  coast  of  New  England  alone, 
besides  canals  and  navigable  streams.,  and  in  addition  to  all  rail  road  ter- 
_mini  at  the  great  city  of  Boston,  there  are  more  than  twenty-five  other  ter- 
mini. Every  county  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  can  show  within  its 
borders,  portions  of  two.  three,  four,  or  more  railroads. 

The  American  coast  of  Lake  Erie  is  much  less  extensive  than  the  coast 
of  North  Carolina.  Yet  their  is  a  rail  road  along  this  coast,  and  nine  rail 
roads  and  four  canals,  with  their  various  ramification?,  running  from  this 
mere  lake  coast  into  the  interior. 

Yet  it  has  bean  less  than  thirty  years  since  the  first  mile  of  rail  road 
was  laid  in  the  United  States ;  and  these  vast  systems  of  rail  roads,  the  un- 
paralleled rapid  development  ef  which  is  the  wonder  and  glory  of  the  age, 
were  commenced  when  rail  roads  were  in  their  infancy  and  their  success 
an  experiment;  and  when  the  population,  wealth  and  resources  of  the  States 
over  which  they  extend,  were  no  greater,  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of 
their  territory,  than  are  the  population,  wealth  and  resources  of  North 
Carolina. 

These  facts  illustrate  the  creative  power  of  rail  roads;  and  show  that, 
instead  of  weakening  each  other,  they  build  up,  strengthen  and  sustain 
each  other.  And  they  prove  to  a  reflecting  North  Carolinian  that  we,  too, 
require  aud  can  sustain  a  system  of  rail  roads  which  will  extend  its  rami- 
fications into  every  portion  of  the  State,  and  send  into  her  remotest  ex- 


6 

tremities  the  life-giving  flow  of  eommecial  prosperity.  If  the  people  of  the 
North  and  West  could  do  all  this,  commencing  poorer  than  we  are,  and  in 
the  infancy  of  rail  roads  ;  why  should  North  Carolina  tit  upon  the  stool  of 
do  nothing,  ringing  her  hands  in  despair? 

We  will  now  compare  some  of  the  leading  statistics  of  North  Carolina, 
under  the  census  of  1850,  with  those  of  the  adjoining  States  of  South  Caro- 
lina, Georgia  and  Tennessee,  which  are  webbing  themselves  with  rail  roads 
running  into  every  portion  of  their  territory.  We  v\ ill  add  Illinois,  so  near- 
ly equal  to  North  Carolina  in  population  and  area,  and  now  rapidly  devel- 
oping a  magnificent  system  of  rail  roads.  We  will  also  add  Missouri,  which 
has  lately  commenced  a  general  system  of  rail  roads-,  and  Iowa,  infant 
frontier,  and  without  a  large  city,  a  seacoast,  or  a  lake  coast,  yet  already 
commencing  a  number  of  parallel  rail  roads  across  her  territory. 


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7 

In  tins  taWe,  the  statistics  of  the  fisheries,  and  of  the  turpentine  and 
lumber  business,  three  important  sources  of  the  products  of  North  Carolina, 
in  each  of  which  she  would  surpass  all  of  the  States  with  which  she  has 
been  compared,  are  omitted,  not  being  acces-ible  to  the  writer:  And  .North 
Carolina  is  here  compared  with  States,  some  of  which  have  already  ad- 
vanced far  in  the  work  of  internal  improvement;  and  have  received,  in  re- 
turn, the  increase  made  by  the  creative  power  of  those  improvements.  Yet, 
even  under  these  disadvantages,  how  do  the  statistics  of  North  Carolina, 
appear,  in  comparison  with  the  statistics  of  those  States  ? 

With  the  smallest  territory  of  any  in  the  number,  except  South  Carolina 
and  Tennessee,  she  is  third  in  the  number  of  inhabitants;  second  in  the 
number  of  acres  of  improved  land  ;  third  in  the  aggregate  value  of  real 
and  personal  estate;  third  in  manufactures;  foremost,  and  most  rapidly 
increasing,  in  the  all  important  interest  of  shipping;  high  above  the  aver- 
age in  the  general  result;  re.-pectable  in  every  item  ;  and  hindmost  in  noth- 
ing, unless  it  be  in  the  small  cost  of  her  government,  and  the  lightness  of 
her  state  debt. 

If  we  study  her  undeveloped  resources,  they  are  magnificent.  Her  soil 
is  rich;  and,  being  abundantly  supplied  with  well  distributed  and  inex- 
haustible deposits  of  rich  manures  and  fertilizers,  it  is  inexhaustible, 
and  capable  of  the  highest  cultivation.  Her  geni-il  and  comprehen- 
sive climate  produces  in  perfection  the  staples  of  all  the  other  States. 
Beneath  her  surface  are  already  discovered  exhaustless  mines  of  gold,  cop- 
per, iron  and  coal.  On  the  slope  between  her  lofty  mountains  and  her 
seaboard,  streams,  larger  than  the  Merrimac,  flow  over  rapids  where  man- 
utacturing  cities  may  flourish.  And  their  many  tributaries  in  their  rapid 
courses  offer  thousands  of  choice  cites  tor  manufacturing  towns  and  villages. 
At  Beaufort,  on  her  coast,  is  a  harbor  of  the  first  class,  admitted  to  be  the 
best  in  the  Union  south  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  possessing  a  rare  combina- 
tion of  advantages. 

Now,  how  are  these  States,  with  which  North  Carolina  compares  in  sta- 
tistics so  favorably,  progressing  in  the  construction  of  rail  roads  ?  Though 
they  all  have  extensive  inland  navigation,  they  are  all  in  the  full  career  of 
constructing  a  general  system  of  rail  roads.  South  Carolina  has  a  success- 
ful rail  road  in  operation  in  nearly  every  district,  and  is  taking  steps  for 
the  construction  of  perhaps  as  many  more.  Georgia  has  nearly  a  thousand 
miles  of  rail  road  in  successful  operation,  and  is  yet  agitating  so  many 
more,  that  her  system  seems  but  to  have  commenced.  Tennessee  and 
Illinois  are  each  webbing  themselves  with  mighty  systems  of  rail  roads, 
which,  when  completed,  will  extend  their  ramifications  into  every  county; 
and  the  construction  of  which  is  rapidly  advancing.  Missouri  has  caught 
the  same  spirit;  and,  at  the  last  session  of  her  legislature,  voted  millions 
for  the  construction  of  rail  roads.  Even  infant  Iowa  has  commenced  the 
work  of  constructing,  across  the  whole  width  of  her  virgin  soil,  three  or 
four  pioneer  rail  roads,  to  carry  the  locomotive  in  advance  of  the  inarch  of 
civilization. 

How  does  the  prosperity  of  North  Carolina  compare  with  the  prosperity 
of  these  rail  road  m  .king  States?  As  the  the  luxuriant  vegetation  of  na- 
ture seems  dwarfed,  when  placed  by  the  products  of  a  high  cultivation; 
or  as  a  stately  ship,  pressing  forward  with  full  sails,  appears  to  retrogade, 
when  passed  by  the  more  rapid  motion  of  a  swift  ocean  steamer;  so  North 
Carolina,  though  marching  forward  in  her  strength,  and  growing  great, 
seems  in  comparison  with  the  more  rapid  progress  of  her  sister  States,  to 
recede  and  dwindle. 

Yet  North  Carolina  has  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  statistics.  They  prove 
that,  though  she  may  be  sleeping,  she  is  a  sleeping  giant.    Though  underval- 


ued  at  home  and  derided  abroad,  yet  she  is  richly  endowed  by  nature  with 
the  elements  of  prosperity;  and,  by  the  energy  and  perseverance  of  her 
sons,  may  yefc  be  placed  side  by  side  with  the  foremost  States  in  the  Union. 

Who,  after  comparing  the  statistics  of  North  Carolina  with  those  of  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Tennessee,  Illinois  and  Missouri,  can  auy  longer  doubt 
that  North  Carolina,  too,  can  construct  and  maintain  a  general  system  of 
rail  road's  ?  Nay,  who  can  doubt  that,  in  this  age  of  progress  and  enter- 
prise, when  the  success  of  rail  roads  is  no  longer  a  matter  of  doubt,  and  when 
the  cost  of  their  construction  has  been  so  much  reduced,  and  so  great 
improvements  have  been  made  in  their  operation;  and  now  that  the 
rail  roads  of  North  Carolina  would  be  fed  and  strengthened  on  eve- 
ry hand,  by  their  numerous  connections  with  the  rail  roads  of  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Tennessee  and  Virginia  ;  and  when  North  Carolina, 
from  her  lack  of  internal  navigation,  is  forced  by  necessity  to  build  rail 
roads ;  who,  in  view  of  all  this,  can  hesitate  to  believe  that  North  Carolina 
can  sustain,  and  will  certainly  construct,  a  general  sy*tem  of  rail  roads  ; 
that  the  spirit  and  progress  of  the  age  will  inevitably  force  through  its 
construction,  in  spite  of  every  opposing  obstacle'/ 

Taking  it  for  granted,  then,  that  a  general  system  of  rail  roads,  extend- 
ing into  every  part  of  the  State,  must  and  will  be  constructed  in  North 
Carolina,  let  us  now  revert  to  the  subject  more  immediately  under  our  con- 
sideration, and  view  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Kail  Road  as  a  part 
of  the  general  system  of  rail  roads  in  North  Carolina. 

Were  those  who  opposed  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Railroad,  be- 
cause it  was  proposed  to  give  it  a  terminus  at  Charlotte,  aware  that 
Carlotte  is  nearer  to  Wilmington,  on  our  own  seaboard,  than  to  Charles- 
ton ?  Yet  such  is  the  fact.  The  distance  in  a  straight  line  from  Charlotte 
to  Charleston,  would,  if  drawn  in  the  direction  of  Wilmington,  extend  far 
into  the  Atlantic  ocean.  The  diiference  in  the  distance  by  rail  road  would 
be  still  greater,  in  favor  of  Wilmington.  For  the  rail  road  connection  be- 
tween Charlotte  and  Charleston  is  crooked  and  indirect,  while  the  connec- 
tion between  Charlotte  and  Wilmington  would  be  unusually  straight  and  di- 
rect. By  a  fortunate  conformation  of  its  natural  route,  the  Wilmington 
and  Manchester  Railroad  already  extends  from  Wilmington  to  Whitesville, 
in  Columbus  county,  on  the  direct  route  to  Charlotte.  And  from  Wnites- 
ville  to  Charlotte,  through  the  tine  counties  of  Robeson,  Richmond,  Anson, 
Union  and  Mecklenburg,  there  is  a  direct  and  very  favorable  route  for  a 
rail  road. 

It  is  obvious,  then,  that,  in  the  future  development  of  the  rail  road  sys- 
tem of  North  Carolina,  one  of  the  first  and  most  important  rail  roads  which 
will  be  constructed  will  be  a  rail  road  from  Charlotte  to  Whitesville.  This 
rail  road  will  meet  the  Central  Railroad  at  right  angles,  and  will  connect 
the  most  wealthy  and  prosperous  portion  of  our  interior  with  Wilmington, 
our  most  flourishing  seaport.  And  North  Carolina  may  well  afford  to  fos- 
ter the  interests  of  Wilmington  with  an  affectiouate  hand  ;  for  Wilmington 
deserves  well  of  the  State.  Wilmington  has  done  more  to  promote  the 
improvement  of  North  Carolina  than  all  the  other  towns  in  the  State  ;  aud, 
in  proportion  to  her  wealth  and  population,  is,  without  any  exception,  the 
most  liberal  and  enterprising  city  in  the  Union. 

Wilmington  is  not  only  nearer  to  Charlotte  than  Charleston  is  ;  but 
it  is  a  fact  equally  significant  that  Wilmington  is  nearer  to  Cincin- 
nati than  Charleston  is;  and  is  also  nearer  to  Cincinnati  than  New  York 
is.  The  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Railroad  would  open  a  direct  com- 
munication between  Wilmington  and  Cincinnati;  so  direct,  in  fact,  that  it 
would  be  called  an  air  line,  or  bee  line  rail  road  between  those  points. 
And,  while  South  Carolina  is  lavishing  millions  to  connect  Charleston  with 


9 

Cincinnati,  North  Carolina,  thanks  to  the  opposers  of  the  Atlantic,  Tennes- 
see and  Ohio  _Rj.il  .Road,  stands  in  the  attitude  of  having  refused  a  naked 
charter  to  a  rail  road  stretching  its  whole  length  directly  between  Wilming- 
ton and  Cincinnati. 

It  may  be  supposed  by  some  persons  that,  although  North  Carolina  is 
able  to  sustain  a  general  system  of  rail  roads,  yet  it  would  be  useless  to 
charter  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Kail  .Road,  or  a  rail  road  from 
Charlotte  to  Whitesville,  because  the  particular  sections  of  the  State  through 
which  they  would  pass  would  be  unable  to  sustain  a  rail  road.  The  state- 
ment of  a  few  plain  facts  will  be  sufficient  to  refute  such  a  supposition. 

There  are  eighty-two  counties  in  North  Carolina,  the  average  popula- 
tion of  which  is  10,596.  The  counties  of  Columbus,  Robeson,  Richmond, 
Ansotij  Union  and  Mecklenburg,  through  which  a  rail  road  from  Charlotte 
to  Whiter ville  would  pass,  have  an  average  population  of  11,000.  The 
counties  of  Mecklenburg,  Lincoln,  Catawba,  Rowan,  Iredell,  Alexander, 
Caldwell  and  Watauga,  through  which  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio 
Rail  Road,  including  a  connection  with  Salisbury,  would  pass,  have  an  av- 
erage population  of  9,2.56  ;  which,  in  proportion  to  their  area,  is  more  than 
the  general  average  of  the  State,  mo.t  of  those  being  among  the  smallest 
counties  in  the  State.  And  these  counties  will  be  found  to  compare  as  fa- 
vorably with  the  rest  of  the  State  in  other  statistics  as  they  do  in  population. 
In  Illinois,  the  twenty-two  counties  through  which  the  great  Central 
Rail  Road  from  Galena  to  Cairo  passes,  have  an  average  population  of  on- 
ly 7,158. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  section  of  the  State  through  which  the  Atlantic, 
Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road  would  pass,  is  superior  in  population  and 
resources.  This  section  of  the  State,  also,  owing  to  the  variety  of  its  soil 
and  climate,  exhibits,  at  each  step,  varying  productions  and  mutual  de- 
pendencies. The  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road  would  unite  the 
tine  regions  through  which  it  would  pass,  with  their  natural  outlets  upon 
the  coast;  would  combine  harmoniously  with  the  other  rail  roads  of  the 
State ;  would  penetrate  the  mountains  by  the  most  available  pass,  and 
would  form  the  great  channel  of  communication  between  our  seaboard  and 
the  North  West.  In  short,  it  would  combine  all  the  great  advantages 
which  men  propose  to  attain  by  the  construction  of  rail  roads. 

Beyond  the  limits  of  North  Carolina,  both  in  South  Carolina  and  in  the 
West,  the  liveliest  interest  is  manifested  in  the  success  of  the  Atlantic,  Ten- 
nessee and  Ohio  Rail  Road.  Tennessee  has  made  an  appropriation,  to  aid 
in  constructing  the  portion  of  it  which  will  be  upon  her  soil,  of  eight  thou- 
sand dollars  per  mile.  The  East  Tennessee  and  Virginia  Rail  Road  com- 
pany have  even  gone  so  far  as  to  cause  a  reconnoissance  to  be  made  of 
that  portion  of  it,  in  North  Carolina,  which  lies  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 
And  the  very  able  engineer  in  their  employment  has  officially  reported 
that  it  can  be  constructed  at  a  cost  per  mile  not  exceeding  that  of  lha 
East  Tennessee  and  Virginia  Rail  Road.  From  the  Central  Rail  Ro<d  in 
our  own  State  to  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge  on  the  East  side,  the  route  is 
every  where  of  the  most  favorable  character.  The  Blue  Ridge  itself  pre- 
sents the  only  formidable  obstacle  in  the  way  upon  the  whole  route;  and, 
although  the  Watauga  pass  has  not  been  subject  to  the  test  of  an  actual 
survey,  it  will  certainly  compare  favorbly  with  any  other,  and  is  believed, 
by  tho<e  well  informed  on  the  subject,  to  present  the  most  eligible  route 
by  which  a  rail  road  can  be  made  to  penetrate  the  Blue  Ridge  in  North 
Carolina. 

I  have  endeavored  to  show  that  the  refusal  of  North  Carolina  to  Charter 
the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  and  Ohio  Rail  Road  company  was  unjust  and  un- 

Microfilmed 
SOLINET/ASERL  PROJECT 


10 
■wise.     The  facts  adduced  for  that  purpose  are  founded  upon  the  substan- 
ti  aland  ascertained  basis  of  the  past  and  the  present.    If  those  facts  are  true 
and   the  inferences  drawn  from  them    sound,  they  merit  the  attention  of 
North  Carolinians,  however  humble  the  writer  may  be. 

We  have  been  led,  in  treating  this  subject,  to  engage  for  a  while  in  the 
pleasing  task  of  advocating  a  general  system  of  internal  improvements  in 
North  Carolina,  and  to  allude  to  the  advantages  combined  in  the  situation 
of  Beaufort  harbor.  It  will  not  be  uninteresting  in  conclusion  to  consider 
more  attentively  for  a  while  the  importance  of  this  harbor. 

The  harbor  of  Beaufort  is  capacious  enough  to  accommodate  with  ease 
the  largest  commerce  in  the  world.  It  is  open  at  all  seasons,  and  can  be - 
entered  and  cleared  in  all  weathers.  It  is  effectually  secured,  by  the  form 
of  its  coast,  from  blockade  in  time  of  war ;  and  it  is  so  entirely  healthy  and 
salubrious  as  to  be  a  place  of  resort  in  the  sickly  season.  Its  entrance 
has  twenty  three  feet  of  water  at  low  tide,  which  is  a  depth  sufficient  to 
admit  the  largest  merchant  men  and  ocean  steamers  afloat.  It  is  well 
land  locked,  and  at  ail  times  affords  safe  anchorage.  And  yet  it  is  so  im- 
mediately on  the  ocean  that  it  can  be  entered  and  cleared  without  a  pilot ; 
and  vessels  at  sea,  sailing  upon  the  great  highway  of  commerce,  between 
our  Northern  and  Southern  cities,  pass  in  sight  of  its  wharves.  Ye.-sels 
from  the  South  bound  for  Liverpool,  and  vessels  from  the  North  bound  for 
the  West  Indies,  pass  over  the  same  route.  And  what  is  most  remarkable 
of  all,  Beaufort  is  so  situated,  with  respect  to  the  ocean  currents  and  pre- 
vailing winds,  that  vessels  from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  whether  North  or 
South  of  Beaufort  harbor,  sailing  for  South  America,  Australia,  Asia,  Af- 
ricaj  or  the  Mediterranean,  pass  near  its  entrance. 

Such  is  the  wonderful  combination  of  advantages  united  at  Beaufort 
Harbor;  In  the  present  state  of  the  commercial  wdrld,  the  possession  of 
these  advantages  justifies  the  belief  that  a  great  commercial  city  may  be 
erected  at  that  point.  But  there  are  great  events  ndw  in  progress  in  the 
commercial  world,  which  will  give  to  the  situation  of  Beaufort  Harbor  in- 
calculable Importance. 

Some  of  these  great  events;  which  will  hereafter  be  looked  upon  as  eras 
in  the  history  of  commerce,  are  the  establishment  of  a  direct  cotton  trade 
with  the  continent  of  Europe,  centering  at  Genoa,  or  some  other  city,  up- 
on the  Mediterranean  sea  ;  the  settlement  and  civilization  of  Australia  ; 
the  growth  of  a  commercial  republic  in  Liberia  ;  and  the  rush  of  immigra- 
tion, and  formation  of  a  mighty  empire  in  the  valley  of  the  Amazon.  If 
the  va3t  commerce  of  these  growing  empires,  and  of  Asia  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean with  the  United  States,  must  all  pass  by  the  entrance  of  Beaufort 
Harbor  ;  and  if  that  harbor  is  as  near  the  heart  of  the  great  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  as  any  harbor  upon  the  ocean  ;  why  may  it  not  be  made  the 
centre  of  a  vast  commerce  if  What  but  energetic  action,  guided  by  wise 
councils,  is  required,  to  give  Beaufort  a  future  df  unexampled  prosperity  ? 
As  the  grandeur  of  this  possible  future  develops  itself  to  the  intellectual 
vision,  the  imagination  is  captivated  in  its  contemplation. 

But  this  great  future,  for  Beaufort  and  for  North  Carolina,  can  only  be 
accomplished  by  determined  and  untiring  effort.  Our  Sister  States  are 
straining  every  nerve,  to  outstrip  each  other  in  the  race  of  improvement. 
If  North  Carolina  does  not  wish  to  be  distanced  in  that  glorious  race,  she 
too  must  exert  her  strength.  If  she  will  arouse  her  dormant  euergiea, 
and  enter  resolutely  into  the  contest,  she  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the  re- 
sult.    Let  the  watchword  of  her  sons  then,  be,  Action,  Action,  Action. 


Lenoir,  April  14,  1854. 


W.  W.  LENOIR. 


HSIEKEI ;0F  N-C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00042093741 

FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


